FuelCellsWorks

Industries, along with federal and state governments, have invested nearly $5 billion in the development and demonstration of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.  Many studies by DOE, the National Academies and industry have clearly shown the technical barriers that need to be overcome and the pathways to commercial success.  Considerable progress has been made in identifying and solving key technical problems.  Early market applications like portable and backup power, materials handling equipment and municipal buses are growing, building technical bridges to more widespread market applications – especially in the transportation sector.

The greatest gains in end use efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions will come with mass markets – Zero Emission Vehicles running on domestic hydrogen.  Some 350-380 million light duty vehicles could be on U.S. roads by 2050, yet today’s fleet of some 230 million gasoline vehicles emit over a third of all our CO2.  Replacing oil and taking the auto out of the environmental equation is a complex and lengthy undertaking, and a balanced portfolio is critical if government’s leadership role in research, development and demonstration is to achieve real value.  Consequently, the FY 10 DOE Budget Request to zero hydrogen programs is of serious concern.

Our speakers are at the leading edge of industry action.  Key Members of Congress will be making remarks.  Please join us for a timely discussion.

• Keith Cole, Director of Advanced Technology Vehicle Strategies and Legislative Affairs, General Motors

• Edward Cohen, Vice President, Government and Industry Relations, American Honda Motor Co.

• Robert Wimmer, National Manager, Technical and Regulatory Affairs, Energy and Environmental Research, Toyota Motor North America

• Edward Kiczek, Director of Global Business, Hydrogen Energy Systems, Air Products and Chemicals

• Panel discussion and a question and answer session will follow.

Moderator will be Jerome Hinkle, Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs at NHA – please contact us for further information at (202) 223-5547 or visit www.hydrogenassociation.org .  RSVPs unnecessary.

The SunLine Transit Agency will receive two federal grants totaling $326,040 for a replacement clean fuel bus and continued research and development of hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, announced the grants early Thursday.

According to a news release, the grant money was requested by Bono Mack to help advance research efforts in fuel cell technology in the Coachella Valley.

MHS Energies, a Business Unit of MHS Equipment SAS (Houilles, France), today announced that ultra-low platinum content PEMFC electrodes (10 µg/cm2) have been manufactured at the GREMI laboratory in University of Orléans (France) using magnetron sputtering of platinum on a commercial E-Tek® uncatalyzed gas diffusion layer in plasma fuel cell deposition devices manufactured by the company.
Particle size, deposition structure and platinum repartition leads to high electrodes efficiency for both hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions. PEMFC performance achieved with such low platinum loaded electrodes (anode and cathode) of 400 mW/cm2 corresponding to a specific power of 20 kW/gPt is to our knowledge the highest that has been presented in scientific papers/literature to date. Platinum loadings of 0.16 and 0.01 mg/cm2 have been realized. PEMFC test with symmetric electrodes loaded with 10 µg/cm2 led to maximum reproducible power densities as high as 0.4 W/cm2 and 0.25 W/cm2 with Nafion®212 and Nafion®115 membranes, respectively.
Added to performances improvement described above, this technology also presents several advantages in cost and manufacturing, and is easily transferable to industrial processes.

MHS Equipment’s expertise lies in the conception and manufacturing of ultra high vacuum thin layer deposition systems. The company aims at making use of this know-how for the development and implementation of innovative breakthrough processes for the industries of renewable energy. Capitalizing on the future, MHS Energies proposes an innovative, environmentally-friendly concept for high performance PEMFC MEA manufacturing.
The first products will be branded as TP2L2 (Total Platinum Loading 20 µg/cm2).

Hydrogen-powered cars sound like a great idea, but how do you stuff enough hydrogen into a small, portable volume that’s practical as fuel? Help could be on the way in the form of a hydrogen-rich compound discovered by researchers in the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

The newly discovered material is a high-pressure form of ammonia borane, a solid material which itself is already imbued with ample hydrogen. By working with the parent material at high pressure in an atmosphere artificially enriched with hydrogen, the scientists were able to ratchet up the hydrogen content of the material by roughly 50 percent.

“Including the hydrogen already stored in ammonia borane, this new material can store around 30 weight percent in total,” said SIMES researcher Yu Lin, lead author of a paper describing the work that was published last week in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Department of Energy has set a target for hydrogen-powered vehicles to have an on-board storage system able to hold 9 percent, by weight, of hydrogen, by 2015. The new compound, called ammonia borane-hydrogen, contains more than triple that amount.

But there’s a fly in the hydrogen: the sought-after storage system must function at ambient pressure and temperature. The process Lin used to get the added hydrogen into the ammonia borane has to take place at a minimum pressure that is approximately 60,000 times the usual pressure at the surface of the Earth.

“For energy applications, we need to stabilize the material near ambient conditions,” said Lin, a graduate student in geological and environmental sciences. Currently, most hydrogen-powered machines use either compressed hydrogen gas or liquid hydrogen, which needs to be maintained at high pressure or very low temperature, respectively, relative to ambient temperature and pressure. These methods have associated safety concerns in the case of compressed hydrogen and require significant energy for cooling in the case of liquid hydrogen.

There is currently no material that satisfies all of the requirements for on-board fuel storage for hydrogen-powered vehicles, according to Lin, who co-authored the PNAS paper with SIMES physicist Wendy Mao and geophysicist Ho-kwang Mao, senior staff scientist at the Geophysical Laboratory at the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

“If the material can be stabilized at or near ambient conditions with a large amount of hydrogen content, then I think it will be very promising,” Lin said. There are potentially several ways to help do this. For example, there might be some “alternative chemical paths, like adding some catalyst to try to stabilize the system,” Lin said.

If Lin and Mao succeed, ammonia borane could move one step closer to becoming an everyday storage material for hydrogen. Also closer to a reality would be scientists’ and environmentalists’ dream of powering cars wit

ZURICH, Switzerland –C.En Ltd. (www.cenh2go.com), pioneer developer of a hydrogen storage technology, today announced the nomination of the acclaimed Russian Academician Prof. E.P. Velikhov as its honorary president. Prof. Velikhov, stated in his letter of acceptance: “I believe that the fulfillment of the potential of this technology will resolve one of the central issues facing society today.” He believes C.En’s inventive storage technology will enable the optimal usage of hydrogen as the “green energy” source, greatly reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

Prof. Dan Eliezer, D.Sc, FASM, C.En’s V.P. and Chief Scientist summarizes the current state of the technology development: “The principles of hydrogen storage in capillary arrays have been firmly established. The development of a final storage system is only a question of engineering.” C.En has developed its novel method for safe storage of highly pressurized hydrogen, using capillaries made of glass materials, for a range of industrial and commercial applications. Prof. Eliezer notes: “Testing and evaluation of C.En’s technology by the Berlin based BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, confirms the trendsetting nature of the company’s innovative approach.” Storage tests conducted by BAM demonstrated a gravimetric storage capacity of 33 wt% and a volumetric capacity of 28 g/L. Results were determined at a comparatively low pressure of 400 bar. Results are significantly higher than other published storage system capacities and have surpassed the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) 2010 hydrogen storage gravimetric targets, and are expected to meet the DOE’s 2015 storage targets in the near future.

Prof. Velikhov is President of the Kurchatov Institute – Russian Scientific Centre, and the First Secretary (head) of the Public Chamber of Russia. He has achieved international acclaim for his inventions, discoveries and over 1500 publications. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Notre Dame and William Howard Taft University (USA) and the University of London, (UK). Amongst others he has received the American Physical Society and Science and Peace Prizes, as well as the State Prize of the Russian Federation (2003).

Since its earliest days Prof. Velikhov has persistently given C.En his scientific support and encouragement. Moshe Stern, President and CEO of C.En said: “I greatly value Prof. Velikhov’s acceptance of the title of Honorary President of C.En Ltd. I believe that his support is and will be a great factor in the advancement of C.En technology.”

C.En Ltd. is a privately-held company based in Switzerland. The company has developed a technology for the safe storage of hydrogen in Multi-Capillary Arrays. Its technology is lighter, cheaper and safer than competing approaches. The company seeks relationships with global players who can incorporate and adapt C.En’s unique technology to their innovative applications.

Highly Efficient 1.4 MW Fuel Cell Power Plant Will Supply 100 Percent of Baseload Electricity Needed to Run a Jail and County Office Buildings, and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

DANBURY, Conn. — FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL), a leading manufacturer of high efficiency, ultra-clean power plants using renewable and other fuels for commercial, industrial, government and utility customers, today announced the sale of a megawatt-class Direct FuelCell(r) (DFC(r)) power plant to California’s Sonoma County to supply 100 percent of the baseload electricity needed to operate a county jail and county office buildings in Santa Rosa.

The DFC1500(tm) power plant will generate 1.4 megawatts of ultra-clean electricity and its byproduct heat will be recovered and used to replace approximately half the natural gas the County currently purchases to make hot water for space heating, cleaning, and cooking. Overall, the County of Sonoma expects significant energy cost savings during the first year of operation.

When operating in a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) mode such as this, DFC power plants can achieve up to 80 percent efficiency. This high efficiency will substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions. By comparison, typical grid electricity is only 33 percent electrically efficient. In addition, since DFC power plants produce electricity without combustion, they produce near-zero nitrous oxides, sulfur oxides and particulate matter, and are one of the most effective means of meeting air quality standards with around-the-clock electric generation.

The state of California is one of the country’s leading environmental advocates with over 75 different laws and incentive programs to further the use of clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas production. These include AB32 that caps carbon dioxide emissions; the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring 33 percent clean energy generation by 2020; and its government office building initiative to reduce energy use by 20 percent (1,935 megawatts) by 2015 from a 2003 baseline. Additionally, the California Air Resources Board’s CARB07 strictly regulates distributed generation power plants, specifying limits for nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds. DFC fuel cells meet all of these limits.

“Installing a DFC fuel cell power plant is not only a wise financial decision,” said Jose Obregon, head of Sonoma County’s General Service Department. “It also demonstrates we’re being responsible stewards of the environment by dramatically lessening the impact of County operations on our community. No distributed power generation alternative we evaluated was able to compete with its high efficiency combined with its environmentally responsible benefits.”

Sonoma County considered numerous options before deciding that the DFC unit was the best solution for its needs. The fuel cell installation is a major component of the $22 million Comprehensive Energy Project to make Sonoma County buildings energy efficient, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and meet the reduction targets established in the County’s Climate Protection Action Plan.

“Our DFC power plants are efficient, quiet, clean and easy to site,” said Bruce Ludemann, Senior Vice President of FuelCell Energy. “And because they operate 24/7 producing ultra-clean baseload power, they’re an ideal solution when keeping the power on is critical and for customers that want to reduce their carbon footprint like jails, government buildings, hospitals, hotels, and wastewater treatment facilities.”

Sonoma County’s purchase of the DFC unit through its site contractor AirCon Energy was partially funded with a $3 million grant under California’s Self-Generation Incentive Program administered by Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Aircon Energy has been specializing in the design, engineering and installation of comprehensive energy solutions since 1974 with a focus on local governments in the state of California. The DFC power plant is scheduled to be in operation in spring of 2010.

About FuelCell Energy

FuelCell Energy is the world leader in the development and production of stationary fuel cells for commercial, industrial, municipal and utility customers. FuelCell Energy’s ultra-clean and high efficiency DFC(r) fuel cells are generating power at over 50 locations worldwide. The company’s power plants have generated more than 275 million kWh of power using a variety of fuels including renewable wastewater gas, biogas from beer and food processing, as well as natural gas and other hydrocarbon fuels. FuelCell Energy has partnerships with major power plant developers and power companies around the world. The company also receives funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and other government agencies for the development of leading edge technologies such as fuel cells. For more information please visit our website at www.fuelcellenergy.com

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company’s plans and expectations regarding the continuing development and commercialization of its fuel cell technology. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that could cause such a difference include, without limitation, general risks associated with product development, manufacturing, changes in the utility regulatory environment, potential volatility of energy prices, rapid technological change, competition, and the Company’s ability to achieve its sales plans and cost reduction targets, as well as other risks set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Direct FuelCell, DFC, DFC/T and FuelCell Energy, Inc. are all registered trademarks of FuelCell Energy, Inc. DFC-ERG is a registered trademark jointly owned by Enbridge, Inc. and FuelCell Energy, Inc.

“Demonstrating the duration capabilities of a UGV in a rugged, real-world environment is a critical milestone in aligning the Adaptive Materials fuel cells with the potential of UGVs,” said Michelle Crumm, chief business officer.  “UGVs are limited now by the power provided through batteries; on battery power, UGVs can only travel so far or sit and sense for a limited period of time before the battery needs to be charged or replaced.  By leveraging the proven, reliable power of an Adaptive Materials fuel cell, UGVs can achieve ultra-long duration and long range missions.”

The iRobot Scout, with a hybrid Adaptive Materials fuel cell – battery power system, held a consistent speed of 5 kilometers an hour throughout the demonstration.  In addition to powering the UGV for a record distance, the fuel cell also powered an on-board camera and computer that reported speed, GPS and other critical data.

The Adaptive Materials fuel cell consumed three 8-ounce canisters of store-bought propane during its long duration demonstration.  Throughout the demonstration, the fuel cell delivered 150-watts of power continuously with peak power output as high as 600-watts.

For comparison, a typical UGV battery pack offers about 40 minutes of continuous power in similar conditions to those demonstrated at Camp Grayling.  Adaptive Materials’ fuel cell delivered 18 times that amount of energy without having to stop and recharge, and for a fraction of the cost.

Although the UGV powered by Adaptive Materials’ fuel cell travelled 64-kilometers at Camp Grayling, the distance covered by the UGV is the same as between:
•    The fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq and Fallujah, Iraq – enabling the UGV to conduct myriad tasks and keep a soldier out of harm’s way
•    Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
•    Kabul and Charikar, Jalez, Sherhabod, or Pol-e’Alam, Afghanistan

Adaptive Materials’ UGV endurance demonstration was completed in partnership with the National Automotive Center (NAC), U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), iRobot and Camp Grayling.

About Adaptive Materials, Inc.
Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., Adaptive Materials, Inc. is the leader in the development of portable power made from solid oxide fuel cell technology.  Leveraging its patented single-step process to manufacture micro-tubular fuel cells, Adaptive Materials is the first company to develop, demonstrate and deliver a portable, affordable, and fuel flexible solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system.  Adaptive Materials’ fuel cell system provides portable power to the United States Armed Forces as well as industries including leisure, remote monitoring, and medical devices.  For more information, visit www.adaptivematerials.com.

Sandia researcher Cy Fujimoto demonstrates his new flexible hydrocarbon polymer electrolyte membrane, which could be a key factor in realizing a hydrogen car. (Photo by Randy Montoya)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers may have developed the key to making hydrogen cars a commercial reality.

A major roadblock in the development of hydrogen cars has been the lack of a reliable hydrogen fuel cell that works well in both dry and humid environments. Hydrogen fuel cells are electrochemical engines that come in several different varieties with the most common being the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell. PEM fuel cells use oxygen from the air and pressurized hydrogen to create electricity, heat and water (steam) as byproducts. The electricity powers the electric motor that turns the wheels of the car.

Sandia researcher Cy Fujimoto has developed a PEM using a different material that appears to be as durable as current PEMs but which also operates well in both dry and humid environments, unlike current PEMs.

“The findings have been quite intriguing and may impact the future of hydrogen cars,” Fujimoto said.

In recent tests, the Sandia polymer outperformed current state-of-the-art fuel cells in two categories. The new Sandia PEM material evolved from an earlier generation Fujimoto and former Sandian Chris Cornelius developed five years ago that operate at elevated temperatures.

The early Sandia fuel cell material, however, was not specifically designed for automotive applications. Fujimoto is making adjustments so that it will suit automakers’ needs, which include high proton conductivity at high temperature and at low water content.

Fujimoto anticipates that the new materials he developed over the past year and a half will make the Sandia PEM perform better at low relative humidity. The chemistry allows him to control where and how much acid is deposited on the polymer backbone, which enables fine-tuning of the size of the ion conducting channels. With larger pathways for proton movement the membranes will work better in low humidity environments.

Other acid-containing PEMS, such as Nafion, maintain a path for protons to pass through when the membranes are hydrated. As they dehydrate, the path shrinks and becomes disconnected, restricting proton movement. The result is diminished function of fuel cells in dry desert climates like the Southwest.

Fujimoto compares the current state of PEMs to a path in a park.

“You can be moving right along and then come to a place where the path breaks. A person walking the path can maneuver around the break and move on. Not so with protons. They come to a dead end,” he says. “Automobile manufacturers want a membrane that is reliable in all environments. They can’t have one that functions well in a humid climate like Miami, for example, and not work well in dry Albuquerque.”

Working through Sandia’s Intellectual Project Management, Alliances & Licensing Department, Fujimoto is collaborating with a consortium of automobile manufacturers to build the better PEM. He says a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) and possible licensing of the technology are forthcoming.

Before the collaboration can proceed much further, he says, he needs to come up with a way to “scale up the chemistry” so the membrane can be mass-produced at a low cost.

“We have to get the cost of manufacturing the membrane below $25 per square meter for the method to be practical for cars,” Fujimoto says. “This is one of the biggest challenges yet.”

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Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness.

Hyundai Kia Automotive Group announced yesterday that its hydrogen fuel cell vehicles completed the 2,655-kilometer course in the Hydrogen Road Tour 2009. The tour was organized by the U.S. Department of Energy. Other than Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, some of the world’s largest carmakers including General Motors, Toyota and Nissan took part in the San Diego to Vancouver tour for hydrogen vehicles.

The Korean group entered the event with hydrogen fuel cell powered sport utility vehicles Tucson and Mohave. The company said that its vehicles drove at an average speed of over 100 kilometers per hour over a distance of 400 to 500 kilometers a day to complete the trip.

The company is currently testing 66 hydrogen vehicles in projects organized by the U.S. Department of Energy and Korea’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

MENTOR, Oh – The Chemsultants International Fuel Cell Technology Group and its partner, Michigan Molecular Institute, have successfully completed research and development of a new and novel fuel cell membrane technology. Partially funded by a Department of Energy grant, the new membrane technology offers promise in achieving improved fuel-cell performance in high-temperature and low-humidity operating environments such as automotive power applications.

The company has recently filed a U.S. Patent application for the new technology. The patent covers three areas of technology including a highly modified membrane polymer, a functional nano-particle additive and a novel process for solution casting multilayer membrane structures.

Chemsultants is continuing development and optimization of several variants of the new membrane technology. The company’s goal is to develop a commercial fuel cell membrane product that will help address the growing national need for renewable energy sources.

It’ll be a decade before you’ll see soccer moms driving around in fuel-cell-powered minivans, but the technology is beginning to come into its own.

The B.C. leg of the “hydrogen highway” will be completed before the 2010 Games, and in the next eight months Whistler will launch the world’s first fuel-cell bus fleet.

Yesterday, a dozen fuel-cell vehicles, built by seven automakers, finished a nine-day trek from California to Vancouver to showcase the technology.

Catherine Dunwoody, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, said four carmakers plan to commercialize fuel-cell vehicles by 2015.

She said B.C. is a “leader” in building hydrogen-fuelling stations for vehicles.

For years many companies, governments and researchers have predicted that our energy future must lie with the universe’s simplest element. The mooted hydrogen economy would use the gas to store and transport renewable or low-carbon energy, and power fuel cells in the transport sector or in portable electronics.

But creating the necessary society-wide infrastructure has proved difficult and expensive to get off the ground. And now a rival idea, first suggested in 2006 by Nobel chemistry laureate George Olah at the University of Southern California, has received a boost.

The methanol economy, say its supporters, could be with us much sooner than the hydrogen one.

Hydrogen dangers

Olah’s rationale is that modifying our existing oil and petrol-focused infrastructure to run on methanol will be much easier than refitting the world’s liquid-fuel-based economy to deal with an explosive gas.

Methanol has already been used to power portable gadgets and could potentially power vehicles and other devices. Now US chemists have worked out the conditions needed to make the feedstock for methanol production using renewable energy.

The research is significant because just as the lack of an efficient way to generate and store hydrogen is a major barrier to the idea of running civilisation on it, sourcing methanol on a vast scale is a similarly major hurdle.

Clean solution

The best way to make methanol is from syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, using the Fischer-Tropsch process. This uses catalysts to convert the syngas into liquid hydrocarbons. The process is used today to make diesel and other liquid fuels from coal, and kept South African cars going during the country’s international isolation in the 1980s and 90s.

However, the whole point of the methanol economy would be to create a greener society, so any syngas must come from an environmentally friendly source, not fossil fuels.

Now chemist Scott Barnett at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and colleagues have shown that a solid oxide electrolysis cell, more normally used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, could be that source.

Viable brew

Using a mix of one part CO₂, one part hydrogen and two parts water in the device generates syngas at a rate which compares favourably with the processes used to make it from natural gas, says Barnett. At peak conditions of 800 °C and 1.3 volts, the system can produce 7 standard cubic centimetres of syngas per minute for every square centimetre of the electrolysis cell’s surface.

The next stage, turning the syngas into methanol, is a standard industrial reaction that is well understood.

Barnett’s method requires a steady stream of water vapour and CO₂, but both gases are released when the methanol is used in fuel cells, and could be captured and re-used, he says.

That would add to the costs involved, but a hydrogen economy would require similar gas-capture technology, says Barnett, because hydrogen production requires a plentiful source of fresh water, which is heavy to cart about.

Olah thinks Barnett’s study is a useful one. “This [methanol economy] approach is now starting to be implemented around the world,” he says. “New methanol plants are being built in China, South Korea, Japan and Iceland.”

Limited scope

But others remain sceptical that methanol will ever occupy more than a small niche. There are several well-known problems with the use of methanol. Like hydrogen, and unlike petrol, methanol is not a source of energy, but simply an energy store, points out Ulf Bossel at the European Fuel Cell Forum in Oberrohrdorf, Switzerland. “The energy carried by methanol is less than was needed to make it,” he adds.

Barnett agrees that methanol is a poor substitute for using the power from a renewable generator like a wind turbine directly. But he says that in cases where direct use is not possible, liquid methanol beats the efficiency of hydrogen for storage and transportation.

Methanol could be used to store energy from renewable sources that often produce more electricity than is needed at a particular time, he says, and could also be useful at off-grid sites.

In these situations, Bossel agrees a modest methanol economy makes sense. “The hydrogen idea is gradually fading,” he says. “Methanol could be a better solution because it is easier to handle.”

New drop-in ‘AEROPAK’ fuel cell system makes stealthy electric UAS fly longer & farther

SINGAPORE, June 3, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — AEROPAK, a next-generation fuel cell power system recently developed by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies will increase the flight endurance of small and stealthy electric unmanned aerial systems (UAS) by as much as 300 percent. The fuel cell technological advancements will bring significant enhancements to UAS, making them more effective in persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, a main focus area for leading defense and security organizations around the world.

Starting evaluation shipments this summer, Horizon’s new AEROPAK brings an immediate performance improvement over today’s best available battery systems. Designed for high-impact and able to operate at up to 22,000 feet (6500m), the complete system integrates Horizon’s record-setting fuel cell technology with new refillable dry-fuel cartridges. Storing 900Wh of usable electrical energy and weighing just 4.4 lbs (2kg), the AEROPAK provides up to four times the endurance capability of advanced lithium batteries currently in use. The miniaturized power system makes it very easy to use as drop-in replacement for battery packs currently in service, eliminating costly airframe modifications.

According to G2 solutions, a Seattle-based market research firm specializing in Aerospace/Defense, “The use of pervasive UAS is increasing because the persistent ISR capabilities they bring are unmatched.”

Electric-powered UAS bring important capabilities – reduced acoustic signature, smaller size – and offer real advantages – lower acquisition cost, fuel savings – to ISR operations. Where battery performance limits the effective use of these promising systems, the AEROPAK next-generation fuel cell power systems will improve versatility and open new mission possibilities for smaller electric UAS.

In addition to increasing flight endurance, the new fuel cell system also makes it possible for small tactical UAS to integrate more power-hungry electronic devices such as electro-optical sensors, infrared cameras and laser designators. The new fuel cell systems can also be used to power remote ground systems and recharging stations, or even serve as an auxiliary electric power supply for larger systems.

Horizon’s AEROPAK is the first of a series of commercially available fuel cell systems that can be customized to fit a variety of platforms and scaled up to provide as much as several kilowatts of power, making it suitable for all sizes and configurations of electric powered UAS.

Over the next 10 years, industry analysts expect the acquisition market for UAS to exceed $44 billion in the U.S. alone. According to Ron Stearns of G2 solutions, “Fuel cells have the potential to improve the Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) configuration for tactical UAS propulsion, leading to increased UAS endurance or expanded sensor and/or communications-relay capabilities.”

Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies has been demonstrating its unique capabilities with a series of pioneering flights, which included “Hyfish,” a 1kW fuel cell powered jet-wing UAS integrated by the German Air & Space Agency (DLR) and the “Pterosoar,” which set a new FAI world record for distance in 2007 with the support of NASA. The new AEROPAK will be displayed at the 2009 Paris Air Show (booth B075) alongside several UAS airframes powered by Horizon’s fuel cell power systems.

About Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies Pte. Ltd.

Headquartered in Singapore, Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies develops and manufactures high performance lightweight and compact fuel cell systems used in aerospace, as well as a global marketer and developer of several award-winning consumer and industrial fuel cell products now commercial in a number of early markets. For more information on AEROPAK or to set up an appointment at the upcoming Paris Air Show, please contact aeropak@horizonfuelcell.com or visit www.horizonfuelcell.com

VANCOUVER, B.C. — While Ballard Power Systems (TSX:BLD) pushes fuel cells for forklifts and backup power, some investors are still stuck on the decision to give up the dream of someday supplying fuel-cell powered automobiles.

With more consumers turning to environmentally friendly vehicles and the restructuring of the automotive industry, a few long-term Ballard shareholders wondered at the company’s annual meeting Tuesday if automobiles powered by fuel cells should still be on the wish list.

Ballard president and chief executive John Sheridan predicted commercial production of automotive fuel cells won’t likely happen until about 2015, at the earliest.

Sheridan said there are “major obstacles” in both the production and cost of getting the technology to market.

“I would love to see the technology … but in terms of the commercial reality, we just don’t see it,” Sheridan said at the meeting.

In an interview afterwards, Sheridan said he isn’t surprised some investors can’t seem to let go of the auto side of the business.

“There is a romanticism about cars, and a lot of people are very concerned about the car world right now and the car sector,” Sheridan said.

In early 2008, Ballard closed a deal to sell its automotive fuel cell development business to Daimler AG and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F)

Daimler and Ford manage and fund automotive fuel cell technology development programs through a new private company located at Ballard’s facilities in Burnaby, B.C.

Ballard has kept a 20 per cent stake in the venture, but doesn’t provide any ongoing funding.

“As a public company – a company that has to make a return for shareholders – we made the right decision,” Sheridan said in the interview.

“In terms of the longer-term technology challenge for automotive, I really hope it’s successful, but it is long term.”

He said Ballard could get back into the business when it does become a reality, but not with the same goals as it had in the past.

“Would we switch gears and become a major fuel cell automotive player? No,” he said.

“As a component supplier? Sure, we would take a look at that.”

Sheridan said the business is now focused on materials handling, which includes fuel cell for forklifts in warehouses, as well as backup power.

The company signed a deal in October to supply fuel cells for telecom backup power in India, which it sees as a growing market for the technology. The deal with ACME Group and IdaTech LLC is for 1,000 units in 2009 and 9,000 units in 2010.

Ballard also recently stepped out of the fuel-cell cogeneration business, another hopeful market from its more recent past.

Last month it dissolved a cogeneration joint venture with Ebara Corp. of Japan for producing electricity and hot water in Japanese homes, saying it would take too long to develop the technology.

Ballard said the decision won’t change its guidance, or its projection to sell about 4,000 fuel-cell units in 2009.

Ballard is projecting annual revenues of about $68 million this year, which is at the lower end of its guidance.

The company is also counting on its technology for use in transit buses. It has a deal to supply a handful of fuel-cell powered transit buses to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

Vancouver-based Ballard recently reported a first-quarter loss of US$18.6 million, citing weak shipments and falling revenues along with restructuring costs from recent staff cuts.

The company, which reports in U.S. dollars, said the loss amounted to 22 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31.

The most recent results included $1.1 million worth of severance costs when the company laid off 32 employees, or seven per cent of its workforce, earlier this month.

The loss was compared to a profit of $81 million or 87 cents per share for the same period last year, buoyed by a $97-million gain from the sale of its automotive fuel cell development business to Daimler and Ford.

Quarterly revenue fell to $8.1 million during the quarter, down nearly 50 per cent from year-earlier levels of $16 million, as weakness in the auto sector crimped demand for the company’s products.

Ceres Power announces the successful design, build and testing of 1kW grid‐connected Combined Heat
and Power (”CHP”) products meeting all of the deliverables under the Alpha phase of the CHP
programme in conjunction with British Gas. This important milestone has been achieved within the
timescale set out in the roadmap presented at Ceres Power’s CHP update with British Gas on 24th June
2008.
The grid‐connected 1kW CHP products were tested on mains natural gas under representative
residential operating conditions, meeting most of a typical home’s electricity requirements as well as
exporting and importing power to and from the grid as required. The Ceres CHP product integrates the
Company’s 1kW Fuel Cell Module with all of the ancillary boiler components into a single unit meeting
all of the home’s hot water and central heating requirements, thereby avoiding the need for a separate
boiler. The wall‐mountable CHP product uses the same natural gas, water and electricity connections as
existing boilers and has been designed for ease of installation, service and maintenance.
During the trialling conducted in the Alpha phase, key tests were witnessed and data verified by British
Gas and an independent third party gas appliance testing company appointed by British Gas. All of the
Alpha CHP product requirements including performance, size, weight and regulatory compliance were
successfully achieved. British Gas has issued an acceptance certificate that triggers the £2m Alpha
milestone payment to be paid to Ceres.
The Company has already commenced the design and procurement activities of the Beta phase of the
CHP programme to produce Beta CHP units for in‐field trials, incorporating refinements arising from the
Alpha phase testing. The fit‐out of the new volume manufacturing plant in Horsham is well underway
with initial operations scheduled to begin in H2 2009. The Company is on track to achieve market launch
of the residential CHP product with British Gas in H2 2011.
The Company will provide the market with a technical update including progress of the CHP programme
at the announcement of its full year preliminary results in September 2009.
Gearoid Lane, Managing Director of British Gas New Energy, said:
“We are delighted that the Alpha phase CHP product testing has been successfully completed and all of
the agreed deliverables have been completed on schedule. This significant achievement underpins the
potential mass market opportunity of the Ceres CHP product for the UK residential market.”

Peter Bance, CEO of Ceres Power, commented:
“The successful completion of the Alpha phase is a very significant achievement and we are now
investing in the Company’s operational capabilities to deliver the residential CHP product in volume.
Ceres Power’s fuel cell CHP product has the potential to make a material contribution to the
development of a low carbon economy and help the UK meet its climate change targets.”

– Cutting-edge technology used at Beijing Olympics will make its California debut –

Volkswagen Group of America will showcase its Passat Lingyu fuel cell vehicles at the State Capitol on Wednesday, June 3, 2009. The Passat Lingyu is a zero-emission vehicle powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that can go up to 90 mph and up to 140 miles before a refueling. In light of new federal greenhouse gas regulations, California’s new Low Carbon Fuels Standard and regulations due to AB 32, these vehicles are one example of a potential zero-emission car of the future. The Passat Lingyu debuted during the Olympic Games in Beijing, China and traveled more than 50,000 miles with zero emissions.

Members of the media are invited to a presentation on Volkswagen Group’s advanced technologies and a test drive of the vehicles. To schedule a test drive time slot, please contact Amy Thoma at athoma@wilsonmillercom.com or by calling 916-551-1383.

      WHO:    Volkswagen Group of America
      WHAT:   Debut Passat Lingyu Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicle in California
      WHEN:   Wednesday, June 3, 2009
              Breakfast and Presentation 8:30-10:00 AM
              Ride and Drive 10:00AM - 2:00PM
      WHERE:  Breakfast and Presentation: 6th floor cafeteria
              East Wing, Capitol Building
              Ride and Drive: L Street between 11th and 12th

  About Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, the world’s third largest automaker and the largest carmaker in Europe. It houses the U.S. operations of a worldwide family of distinguished and exciting brands including Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Volkswagen, as well as VW Credit, Inc. Founded in 1955, the company’s headquarters are in Herndon, Va.

Volkswagen Group of America brings to the U.S. vehicles that marry the science of engineering and the art of styling, with the goal of offering attractive, safe, and environmentally sound automobiles that are competitive and set world standards in their respective classes.

The company has approximately 2,500 employees in the United States and sells its vehicles through an 800-strong dealer network. With increasing popularity for its brands in the U.S., the company has set the goal of reaching one million car sales in the country by 2018.

East Tennessee will be the location of demonstration fuel cell technology developed by Silicon Valley-based Bloom Energy.

Bloom Energy’s demonstration site will be able to generate 100 kilowatts of electricity that could be a precursor to the potential siting of a manufacturing facility in Tennessee.

The system will be at the Electric Power Board headquarters in Chattanooga and will be close to a final version that Bloom Energy plans to introduce in the broader market later this year, according to CEO KR Sridhar, who announced the planned installation Wednesday at the Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit. Chattanooga also is home to a 5 kilowatt installation made by Bloom Energy near the University of Tennessee. That system has been in place for two years.

Bloom Energy, which has kept development of the “solid oxide fuel system” close to the vest, has spent several years and $250 million developing the fuel cell technology, according to industry reports. The units are “fuel agnostic,” Sridhar said, meaning they can be powered by a variety of inputs, including biomass and natural gas.

The project is receiving funding through a federal appropriation as well as support from the Electric Power Board’s research and development organization, according to Joe Ferguson, head of special projects for the Enterprise Center, a Chattanooga-based economic development organization. Ferguson said the Electric Power Board expects delivery of the equipment “before the end of June.”

He said Bloom Energy’s earlier test site at UT-Chattanooga’s SIM Center, a computation research facility, had shown the technology to be very reliable.

Soarus LLC has commercialized Nichigo G-Polymer, a water solution polymer with potential uses in fuel cell systems.
Soarus, based in Arlington Heights, Ill., introduced the material earlier this year, commercial development manager Jim Swager said in a recent phone interview. The material is made at two Japanese plants operated by Soarus’ parent firm, Nippon Gohsei Co. Ltd. of Osaka, Japan. Current annual capacity for G-Polymer is about 5 million pounds.

Production can be added if needed at a Nippon Gohsei plant making EVOH (ethylene vinyl alcohol) resins in La Porte, Texas, but Swager said that Soarus has no definite timetable on when that move will be made.

G-Polymer is described as a high amorphous content vinyl alcohol resin where crystallinity can be tailored down to the point of being totally amorphous. The material, available in pellet or powder form, has excellent gas barrier properties and can be used in household power fuel cell systems and in fuel cell powered cars. G-Polymer can be used in all extrusion processes as well as in injection molding and also is biocompostable, officials said.

Swager said G-Polymer bridges the gap between EVOH and PVOH (polyvinyl alcohol) resins. Officials also said the material provides high strength, flexibility and antistatic properties when used in nonwoven fabrics, polymer alloys, multilayer film and similar applications.

Soarus represents Nippon Gohsei’s North American technical and marketing efforts for Soarnol-brand EVOH and other related products.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — General Motors is committed to developing a hydrogen fuel-cell car despite its bankruptcy and a huge cut in research dollars for the zero-emission vehicle, a company executive said Monday.

Lawrence Burns, GM’s vice-president of research and planning, said the company will be looking to alternate sources of funding to keep development going.

It also remains committed to providing a couple of fuel cell-powered SUVs for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he said.

The once-dominant automotive giant went into bankruptcy protection on Monday and is expected to emerge a much smaller company.

Last month, U.S. Energy Secretary Steve Chu cut US$100 million from hydrogen fuel cell program, leaving around US$68 million for this fiscal year.

GM has lobbied Congress and U.S. Department of Energy to continue funding research towards commercializing fuel-cell propulsion systems, he said.

“We believe they’re strategically important for the nation,” he Burns said in an interview after making a presentation at a fuel-cell conference in Vancouver. “We’ve shared that perspective with members of Congress, members of the Department of Energy.”

In announcing the cut, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the government would focus more on near-term solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as biofuels and battery-electric vehicles.

Burns pointed out it’s Congress that approves the budget.

“So Dr. Chu’s statement that he was going to zero out the funding for hydrogen for transportation purposes, I think it got the attention of a lot of people in Congress and they’re asking all of the right questions right now,” he said.

“So we’re going to have to keep our eye on seeing how that whole process plays out.”

Hydrogen fuel cells, which produce electricity with heat and water as the only byproducts, suffered from raised expectations in the 1990s as a technology that was just around the corner.

But the work needed to reduce their size while increasing their power and bringing costs to mass-production levels has kept the corner just out of reach.

GM and other automakers have leased limited-production fuel-cell vehicles to U.S. consumers for real-world testing, but say the earliest they’ll show up for sale in dealer showrooms is 2015.

Burns said the effort in Washington now involves letting legislators know they’ve made big strides towards commercialization in the last decade.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a sell job as making sure everybody works from the same facts,” he said.

Burns said another way to another way to reduce development costs would be for automakers to co-operate on common components that don’t affect the overall drivability of the vehicle, such as compressors, values and humidifiers.

Intelligent Energy would like to clarify the status of its ongoing fuel cell motorcycle development projects, in the light of some potentially misleading information published recently.

We remain hard at work to bring fuel cell motorcycles to the market. Since we launched the ENV in 2005, we’ve made great strides with development of the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell motorcycle. We are also working with Suzuki, having launched the Crosscage in late 2007 and extended our relationship to ensure that this exciting programme progresses further. Both projects continue to meet milestones and we are extremely happy with how well these bikes are performing as we work on the latest versions.

As has been mentioned in some media reports, a major focus for Intelligent Energy is certification of fuel cell motorbikes. Although for commercial reasons, we can’t yet disclose what the power output from these fuel cell stacks will be, our goal is to build bikes which satisfy the requirements of zero tailpipe emissions, range and quick refuelling times. As before, such motorbikes will be hybrids, with power also available from a battery that will be recharged from the fuel cell system.

Unfortunately, these bikes will NOT be available on the market to all consumers at the end of this year. Intelligent Energy does not claim that this would be the case. We DO intend to launch a test fleet working near our headquarters in Loughborough from the end of 2009, although details on how these bikes will look are yet to be disclosed. The purpose of this trial fleet will be to test the performance and range of these new bikes with real fleet customers.  The fleet will amount to a small number that we can monitor for an extended period before moving to the next phase on the path to full commercialisation.

Intelligent Energy is leading a consortium that aims to put a fleet of fuel cell taxis on the streets of London in the Olympic year of 2012. It is also our hope to run a fleet of fuel cell motorcycles at the same time.

Lastly, we designed and developed our very versatile clean power systems so that they lend themselves to economically feasible mass manufacture, and in such a way that the fuel cell products marketed by our partners are affordable for consumers. We remain committed to bringing fuel cell technology to the market at competitive prices.

Henri Winand

Chief executive officer, Intelligent Energy

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. — Protonex Technology Corporation (LSE: AIM: PTX and PTXU), a leading provider of advanced fuel cell power systems for portable, remote and mobile applications, today announced that it has received an additional $500,000 contract award from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for advanced development of high power fuel cell systems for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This award is an extension of an existing contract with the NRL and will focus on incorporating and testing Protonex’ advanced fuel cell power system within a tactical UAV.

Development work under this program will concentrate on advancing the technical readiness of the company’s UAV fuel cell platform through design improvements and stringent testing. The advanced system will be integrated into a new NRL air vehicle designed specifically for long endurance. The resulting UAV, powered by the Protonex fuel cell system, will be targeted at tactical missions and is expected to provide high efficiency and a very low noise profile.

This program expands upon a series of efforts by Protonex to transition its fuel cell power systems into fieldable UAVs. At present, battery-powered electric UAVs are limited to one to three hours of flight. Protonex power systems, integrated into other small UAVs, have already demonstrated up to four times the flight endurance capability of advanced batteries. With the introduction of cutting-edge fuel cell propulsion systems from Protonex, critical missions such as persistent surveillance, search and rescue, chemical-biological monitoring, and other long-endurance specialty missions can be achieved by smaller, more flexible, and cost-effective UAVs.

“We’ve had great success in our previous collaborations with the NRL, and the expansion of this UAV program validates those results,” stated Dr. Paul Osenar, Chief Technology Officer, Protonex. “Protonex looks forward to transitioning these advanced systems into fielded military products in conjunction with the NRL and other unmanned aircraft system integrators.”

Notes to Editors

About Protonex Technology Corporation
www.protonex.com

Protonex Technology Corporation develops and manufactures compact, lightweight and high- performance fuel cell systems for portable power applications in the 100 to 1000-watt range. The Company’s fuel cell systems are designed to meet the needs of military, commercial and consumer customers for off-grid applications underserved by existing technologies by providing customizable, stand-alone portable power solutions and systems that may be hybridized with existing power technologies. The Company is headquartered in Southborough, Massachusetts.

ITM Power Plc is developing technology to enable the storage of time varying renewable energy and to provide a low carbon replacement for hydrocarbon fuels. The Company now has granted IP protecting novel low cost ionomeric materials and methods of production for both fuel cells and electrolysers. The Board believes that these combine to provide ITM with a unique position in the development of technology to replace hydrocarbon fuels with a zero-carbon alternative (hydrogen) using renewable resources, a fuel which is suitable for storage and subsequent re-conversion in existing heat engines or fuel cells.

Following the departure of the CEO earlier in the year, the Board, led by its Chairman Peter Hargreaves, has pursued two objectives:

(A) a bottom-up review of ITM’s operations and objectives, the latter being undertaken by Dr. Donald Highgate and Prof. Roger Putnam CBE; and

(B) the search for a replacement CEO of proven technical and commercial ability.

The Board is now pleased to announce the results of these activities:

(A) The review has been completed and its recommendations have been accepted by the Board as the basis for the Company’s development in the coming year. The principal recommendations are:

(i) revision of the Company’s activities to expand the range of potential applications which could be serviced by the Company’s platform technology. Furthermore, to seek to ensure that these are effectively demonstrated and their potential widely publicised. This is considered necessary to allow ITM to make further commercial contacts with potential commercial partners which the Board recognise to be essential;

(ii) recognition that the Company could seek income from a wider range of activities and applications of its existing core technology, including sales of components and systems into existing electrolyser markets, not previously pursued as a preferred route to commercialisation; and

(iii) reduction of the Group’s operating expenditure by a thorough review of the facilities and staff necessary to achieve success in the newly defined business space. As a result of that review, the following actions are currently in process:

(a) closure of ITM’s Head Office and the transfer of any continuing functions to its existing sites at Sheffield (sites S1 & S2);

(b) closure of an analytical laboratory facility (S3) at Sheffield; and

(c) reorganisation and rationalisation of the management of the two remaining sites at Sheffield to improve the process flow from research to development and on to prototype production.

As part of this process the Company is proposing to make a number of redundancies amounting to approximately 12% of the workforce. These proposed redundancies are currently the subject of on-going consultation with potentially affected staff.

Excluding restructuring costs, this programme would be expected to result in annualised savings of about 10% of the current cost base. It would not be expected to affect ITM’s ability to carry out its activities as set out by the Board. Taken together with income from the recently awarded TSB research project the costs savings from this programme would partially offset the increase in net expenditure that would otherwise have resulted from the reduction in income interest.

In pursuit of these objectives, the Board has appointed ‘New Century Media’ with the remit to make the Company’s technical achievements and potential widely understood, and in support of this process ITM will be demonstrating a range of application ‘packages’ which show the potential of its technology in a range of areas not restricted to the transport field.

The first of these will be a demonstration of the technology package designed to make low carbon housing a reality. Later demonstrations will focus on the local provision of high pressure hydrogen for clean industrial applications and the use of fuel cells.

In recognition of ITM’s new focus, the Board intends to formally open the Company’s Prototype Production Facility at Sheffield on the 15th June and invites any shareholder who wishes to see the progress made in the recent past to attend for a guided tour. Details of arrangements and registration are available on the Company’s web site, www.itm-power.com, and by application to Tavistock Communications.

(B) The Board is pleased to announce that it has appointed Dr. Graham Cooley as CEO of ITM Power with effect from 29th June 2009. Dr. Cooley, age 45, has a wide experience in the development, engineering and application of energy interfaces and storage systems; indeed he developed the Regenesys energy storage technology from a lab scale experiment to an industrial scale technology and managed National Power’s polymer fuel cell technology. He has extensive experience as the CEO of technology development companies being the former CEO of Antenova, Metalysis and Sensortec. He has a PHD in Materials Technology and an MBA.

The Board believes that he has the technical and management expertise necessary to further the commercial development of ITM at this critical time in the Company’s history.

Dr Cooley is currently a director of Sensortec Ltd, Universal Sensors Ltd, Cawood Plc and Cogswell & Harrison Ltd. Previous directorships in the last five years include Metalysis Ltd. There are no other disclosures required under Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

The Board intends to grant Dr. Cooley options over 200,000 ordinary shares in the Company with effect from his appointment at an exercise price of 18.25p per share.

In summary the Board feels that ITM has emerged from the challenges of the past months with a clear structure and review of its technical capabilities which have combined to provide a redefined path for future development.

For further information please visit www.itm-power.com